美国商品期货交易委员会向白宫提交加密货币市场框架

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission submits draft framework for cryptocurrency trading and market rules to the White House

On September 17, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) submitted proposed rules on cryptocurrency trading and markets to the White House for review. The move marks that regulators are accelerating the legislative process after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act.

The CFTC submitted a proposal and lost the Senate vote

According to documents submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the CFTC officially submitted a rule proposal entitled "Cryptocurrency Asset Trading and Cryptocurrency Asset Management" on September 17. The OIRA is responsible for reviewing major regulations before federal agencies implement them.

The submission comes two days after the Senate failed to pass a procedural motion for the Digital Asset Markets CLARITY Act by a narrow margin of 49 - 50. The motion needed 60 votes to start debate and therefore failed. However, seven Democratic senators who have opposed the termination of the debate process have said negotiations may still continue, leaving the bill's future direction full of uncertainty.

Previous reports pointed out that due to differences in Congress on the federal market structure law, the bill's suspension has made the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the CFTC need to rely more on their existing legal powers to formulate digital asset rules. The CLARITY Act aims to clarify the division of regulatory responsibilities between the SEC and the CFTC and establish registration requirements for cryptocurrency trading platforms and other market participants. Eligible digital commodities and their spot markets will be mainly regulated by the CFTC, while activities involving securities will be governed by the SEC.

Chairman Selig deploys regulatory framework under existing authority in advance

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has instructed staff to use the agency's existing powers to develop a cryptocurrency market framework in case Congress fails to pass new legislation. Selig said at an agency event on August 20 that he had directed the team to study how to "codify the CFTC's market structure for cryptocurrency assets" through its existing powers to achieve this goal.

Under the framework described by Selig at the time, existing CFTC registered entities and cryptocurrency exchanges that are not currently registered may be designated as a designated contract market form called a "cryptocurrency asset market." Selig pointed out: "This could allow current registered entities and unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges to be designated by the CFTC as cryptocurrency asset markets." Such platforms can then offer leveraged or margin cryptocurrency trading under rules governed by the CFTC.

Selig的言论表明，在参议院投票之前，该机构就已经在为加密货币规则做准备。他强调，如果立法陷入停滞，CFTC将利用其现有权力建立数字资产市场监管体系。

白宫审查与CFTC内部表决流程

OIRA的审查是联邦立法过程的早期阶段，并不意味着提案立即生效。在特朗普政府时期，包括CFTC和SEC在内的独立机构被要求在发布前将重大监管行动提交给行政管理和预算局进行审查。一旦OIRA完成审查，提案可能会经过修订后返回CFTC。委员会必须在发布提案供公众评论之前进行投票。

目前，Selig是五人委员会中唯一的委员，其余席位空缺。这使得他在推动CFTC加密货币议程时拥有唯一的一票。 staffing问题早在此次提案之前就已存在。截至2025财年结束，CFTC的员工人数约为556人，而一年前为708人。自2025年12月上任以来，Selig一直是唯一获确认的委员。

在提案发布后，机构将收集公众意见，并可根据反馈修订框架。最终规则在生效前还需要委员会再次投票。

CFTC利用现有权力推进其他监管措施

白宫提交的文件是联邦机构在参议院投票后采取的一系列监管步骤的一部分。9月17日，CFTC工作人员发布了一份“不采取行动立场”声明，涵盖某些促进受监管衍生品市场访问的软件开发商。这意味着，只要符合特定条件，对于未作为介绍经纪人注册的被动软件提供商，工作人员不会建议采取执法行动。

根据CFTC对开发者的豁免政策，符合条件的提供商必须满足10项条件。他们的软件可以将用户连接到注册的衍生品交易所、经纪商和期货佣金商人，而不会因某些注册要求触发执法建议。开发者保护一直是围绕联邦加密货币市场结构立法的争议焦点之一。《CLARITY法案》的部分条款寻求在特定条件下为非托管软件开发商、钱包提供商和验证器运营商提供保护。

与此同时，SEC也在推进其自身的加密货币监管议程。9月17日，美国证券交易委员会发布了备受期待的针对合格代币化证券活动的创新豁免，为某些链上交易模型提供了监管途径。

CFTC前主席J. Christopher Giancarlo在参议院投票后表示，监管机构无需等待国会即可继续发展数字资产框架。他指出，Selig和SEC主席Paul Atkins可以利用其机构已有的权力，同时立法者继续辩论立法事宜。这些评论紧随《CLARITY法案》投票之后，当时两个机构都在推进影响加密货币交易所、开发者和代币化市场的单独措施。

《CLARITY法案》谈判仍未终结

参议院的挫折并未正式结束《CLARITY法案》的工作。七名投票反对终止辩论程序的民主党参议员在投票后表示，谈判并未结束。如果立法者达成能够获得参议院所需的60票以推进法案的协议，该措施可能会重新回到议事日程。

在谈判过程中，涉及民选官员和数字资产利益的道德条款是争议领域之一。民主党议员对总统唐纳德·特朗普的加密货币持仓及其家族关联企业提出了担忧，尤其是在行政部门推进新的数字资产规则之际。开发者保护也是谈判中的另一个争议点，立法者就在多大程度上应对编写或维护非托管软件的人员施加金融监管要求展开了辩论。

The bill aims to establish a federal market structure that covers token classifications, trading platforms, and regulatory responsibilities between the CFTC and the SEC. Its House version was passed in July 2025 and subsequently entered the Senate process. Currently, the CFTC proposal is still in the White House review stage. Once the OIRA completes the process, the measure can be returned to the committee for a vote, and then enters a release and public comment period before any final rules can take effect.